New To Saltwater

RAYRAY

RAYRAY

Tiny Tank Club A+ Member
Just starting out in saltwater. I have a 35 gallon hex with a whisper 40, a 40 gallon airpump to add more oxygen, a 150 watt heater with 30 lbs of marine sand already added. It has been running for about 2 week as is with no live stock. My gravity reading is right at 1.023 and has stayed that way with no change. Now my question. To start cycling the tank, I was going to add 10 lbs of live sand to the tank and about 15 lbs of fully cured live rock. Will this be a good start to cycling the tank? I dont want to use live stock or uncurred rock. I hope this will be a step in the right direction. Any suggestions would be great!! Thanks !!!!!
 
Hello and welcome!

Adding live sand and rock will cycle your tank, but even what they call fully cured live rock will still experience some die-off. You want to aim to end up with around 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon in your tank, so you might want to think about starting with more rock, as adding live rock after you have animals in there can trigger another mini cycle.

Whatever you decide, get some test kits and monitor your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Once ammonia and nitrite go back down to zero you can do some water changes to bring nitrates down to a manageable level and add a fish or two.
 
thanks for your suggestions. I figured that I would need about 30 to 35 lbs of rock and will most likely do that. I have a couple other questions. Hope it doesnt sound like too much. Once I do add the live sand and rock, say i add 15 lbs then the next week and 15 more, will that start the cylce over or just prolong it. I really dont care if it takes longer because i am being very patient on the budget i have. Plus should i start checking the water once all the rock is in or when i first add the 15 lbs and how often should I check it ?? Hope this isnt too redundant !!!
 
Your first cycle probably won't be finished in a week, so adding more rock a week later will just prolong it, which is fine if you can be patient :D. You can start testing the water whenever you want, it depends on how curious you are. I'd do it once all the rock is in, and then every few days after that until your levels get down to normal. Some people like to check it every day, it's up to you.
 
Hi RayRay
If your planning on getting your rock from the LFS You may not have a cycle.If you order it and its shipped you will defently have a cycle.It all depends on where you get your rock.
You can also use base rock which is a whole lot cheaper than LR,then seed it with 20lbs or so of the live.Just make sure that if you get your LR local that they put a little water in the bag so it doesnt dry out before you get in your tank.
Once you get your rock and sand in, it would be a good idea to test for ammonia and nitrite at least every other day.Once the ammonia drops to 0 start testing for nitrate.Once your cycle is complete then most people just test ammonia,nitrite,and nitrate once a week,salinity every day.Personally I test for ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,PH,calcium,alkalinity,phosphate,and salinity every day and keep a log of my results.
Remember,questions is why we have this great forum.Were all here to help each other out,so any time you got a question,post it.Some one will be able to answer it for you.
 
thank you again. The LR is from a LFS. He told me that if was fully cured. When you say base rock, is that just dried rock you find in the rock bins ? or is it rock they keep in an aquarium. I seen rock in a bin taht looked nice, they called it "look alive rock" . Could i use that at the bottom and add the cured rock on top, with the live sand as well ????
 
Sure can.The look alive rock is what I was talking about being base rock.
JUst add the base rock first,then the sand.That will give a pretty solid foundation for your rock work without the worry of something borrowing under it and causing a rock slide.
When you get your LR in there,be sure to test every couple of days at least.If after a couple of weeks,you havn't seen a spike in parmeters,then you should be ok to add a fish or 2.Just remember to take it slow and test regularly.
 
Awesome !! All This Info Is Great !! Thanks Again And If I Have Any Other Question I Know Just Where To Go !!! Thanks Again Everyone!!!
Ray
 
Thats a great looking tank RayRay.You might want to replace that airstone with a couple of powerheads before you add your rock.The small bubbles will fill the small holes and tunnels of the rock with air and could possiblie kill and small hitch hikers that you might want to keep.
 
But Do You Think That The Powerheads Might Create A Whirlpool Effect, Or Maybe Point Them In Different Directions To Counter Act The Current???
 
Powerheads are good. They won't create a whirlpool effect. For your tank size, you probably would need one or two, depending on their strength.
 
I would put one on one side aimed up at the water surface,then one on the other side pointed kinda down so that the current kinda collides.That should give you pretty good randon currents which is what you want if your planning on keeping corals.
 

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